The Rubber Band/The Red Box 2-in-1

The Rubber Band The Red Box in A grand master of the form Rex Stout is one of America s greatest mystery writers and his literary creation Nero Wolfe is one of fiction s greatest detectives Here in Stout s third and fourth compl

Title: The Rubber Band/The Red Box 2-in-1

Author: Rex Stout

ISBN: null

Page: 129

Format: Kindle Edition

A grand master of the form, Rex Stout is one of America s greatest mystery writers, and his literary creation Nero Wolfe is one of fiction s greatest detectives Here, in Stout s third and fourth complete Wolfe mysteries, the arrogant, gourmandizing, sedentary sleuth and his trusty man about town, Archie Goodwin, solve two of their most baffling cases The Rubber Band WhaA grand master of the form, Rex Stout is one of America s greatest mystery writers, and his literary creation Nero Wolfe is one of fiction s greatest detectives Here, in Stout s third and fourth complete Wolfe mysteries, the arrogant, gourmandizing, sedentary sleuth and his trusty man about town, Archie Goodwin, solve two of their most baffling cases The Rubber Band What do a Wild West lynching and a respected English nobleman have in common On the surface, absolutely nothing But when a young woman hires his services, it becomes Nero Wolfe s job to look deeper and find the connection A forty year old pact, a five thousand mile search, and a million dollar murder are all linked to an international scandal that could rebound on the great detective and his partner, Archie, with fatal abruptness The Red BoxMurder by chocolate That s the premise Nero Wolfe must operate from when a beautiful woman is poisoned after indulging in a box of candy It s a case that the great detective no stranger himself to overindulgence is loath to take for a variety of reasons, including that it may require that he leave his comfortable brownstone But he and Archie are compelled by a mystery that mixes high fashion and low motives and a killer who may have made the deadliest mistake.

1 thought on “The Rubber Band/The Red Box 2-in-1”

Third and fourth volumes in the Nero Wolfe/Archie Goodwin saga.I liked both stories although they each tended to start out a little slow. But they catch you in the end.I like milk but I have never seen so much drinking of milk as Archie seems to be doing, at least in The Red Box.Archie is the wisecracker and Nero is just wise and never (almost) leaves the house.On to Too Many Cooks as soon as I can find it.

When I was a kid, I was a murder mystery junkie. I read some Rex Stout/Nero Wolfe short stories in Ellery Queen Magazine (which I used to subscibe to) but they didn't really do it for me. I was more into the Agatha Christie brit-crime than the American model. I picked this up at the library and now I realize I was totally too young to get it. There's a reason why certain authors/characters are considered classics in the genre and I get it now. Where to I start? Archie and Nero Wolfe are great ch [...]

The Rubber Band. This is the third story in the series and while it's very entertaining, it has some problems. For one thing there is some far-fetched moments in the explanation. I didn't find it nearly as satisfying as the first two, though I enjoyed the large number of moving parts. Also, a lot of things happen "off-screen" with agents other than Nero and Archie (specifically with Saul Panzer and the other erstwhile employees). I think Stout was trying to create a whirlwind of activity and it [...]

With the third installment of many series, you can see the author settling into the world he's creating and while there are hints of it, Stout's been pretty at home since Day 1--he just adjusts the furniture a bit in The Rubber Band.I have a pretty good sense of history, but it consistently throws me when someone in an early 20th century novel makes a reference to something in their recent past (or, in this case, the past of their parents) which is straight out of a Western movie. I can look at [...]

A good classic pair of Wolfe mysteries that happen to go well back-to-back. Both mysteries are Byzantine enough that I felt like I almost had a grip on the solution, but in the end fell short. Both made me laugh out loud at some of the banter between Wolfe and Goodwin and Cramer. Both mysteries had long memories back into the past, and both featured a bunch of corpses.The Rubber Band was the more clever of the two mysteries on a technical level, I felt, weaving a number of strands together into [...]

The Rubber Band follows a young woman on a quest to solve a mystery and fulfill a promise owed to her father (recently deceased). Of course, nothing is every simple in a Nero Wolfe mystery so from the beginning there is murder, intrigue, and suspicion on all sides. Wolfe (and Archie!) are at their best in this novel and culminates in a shocking ending that left me with my mouth agape in wonderment.The Red Box started out in the style of a whodunit except where the suspects were numerous but the [...]

I've only finished the first in this 2-novels-1-book collection; I want to save the other for another moment when I'm feeling classical mystery inclined. I always enjoy Nero Wolfe, his mannerisms and love of language, Archie Goodwin's attitude and observations, the description of glorious meals provided by Fritz. The Rubber Band was a fun read, as ever with Rex Stout, dealing with an adventuress searching for the fortune her father said her deserved, an English Marquis, some characters from the [...]

Two more entries in the Nero Wolfe series, these from 1936 and 1937 respectively. Told as always from the perspective of Archie Goodwin, who manages as usual to fall for the girl in each case (though, of course, they do not fall for him). And Nero Wolfe is magnificent as always, too. I only discovered this series in the last couple of years, when a number of 2-in-1 omnibus editions began to appear, and having read I think six so far, I'm quite enamoured of Stout's depiction of people and attitud [...]

My mother and I collected every Nero Wolf mystery. I have them safely stored away. Then I reread these two goodies. I had forgotten the quotable bits of humor and the incredible vocabulary. In The Rubber Band, the method of murder is the standard shot which a gun; in the Red Box the method is less direct. Authorities on these matters say that women prefer the more indirect. I guess Stout agrees, and that is as much as I am going to give away. Though I had read both, I forgot who did it, and sat [...]

Spending time with Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin is always a good time. The Nero Wolfe mysteries are always enjoyable, even if, as with these two stories, the reader can guess by the end who the killer is and how he or she managed it. The fun comes from Archie, narrator and assistant to the orchid-loving genius detective. The A&E series of 15 years ago introduced me to the pair, and the books keep them alive in my memory. The series is good for times when you want a mystery to read where you [...]

The Rubber Band was an interesting, if dated, mystery that had me guessing to the end. The Red Box was pretty much the same.I don't think I will be looking for more by Rex Stout. Basically Archie runs around doing the fat man's bidding, and reporting back his observations, while the fat man drinks beer with his eyes half closed and attends to his orchids. After two hundred pages of that he solves the mystery, which he's figured out by his sheer mental capacities.I don't think I could take a thir [...]

Another amazing Nero Wolfe mystery. The Rubber Band was incredible, possibly the best mystery I have read from Rex Stout in the Nero Wolfe series so far. It had lots of fun twists and turns, and the ending was quite unexpected. Likewise, the Red Box had some fun twists, with a surprise ending. It is testament to the talent of Rex Stout that I can never tell who the culprit is--he hides it well. Wolfe always surprises, with his shenanigans and tricks to force the villian to show him/herself. High [...]

"What for? I can see it. I sit down and explain to him why I think he's a liar. He says 'indeed' and shuts his eyes and opens them again when he gets ready to ring for beer. He ought to start a brewery. Some great men, when they die, leave their brains to a scientific laboratory. Wolfe ought to leave his stomach." - The Red Box

I read and love the Nero Wolfe books mostly for the relationship between Archie and Nero. They are like an old married couple, but of course they are not. Both of these titles do not disappoint, and I thought the mysteries were interesting. I would highly recommend Nero Wolfe to anyone - what a great character!

Two very different stories in one bookIt is amazing how Rex Stout has Nero Wolfe take on radically different cases from book to book but each one is unfolded in a series of moves that highlight Wolfe's genius -and the author's. Wolfe's office is the center of the action since he rarely leaves home and his keen mind drives all investigation and interrogation. Very clever reads!

Overall two good books. They are linked chronologically which wasn't the case of another double one I read. These two are early in the Nero Wolfe series. Well written, interesting endings and really quite funny.